I wasn't sure what I was going to find in A Complement of Scoundrels, a debut that sounded lit as it flew through my radar; and honestly, it was worth it: not we have a superb heist fantasy story in a steampunk like setting that allows its characters to shine, but also a brilliant political commentary hidden underneath the layers, while delivering a revenge story in the best vibe of The Italian Job.

Myria Cadessa and her crew should have become the richest thieves in all Carintheum after cracking the Elysium Vault; but treason landed with all the band rotting in jail. After being freed three years later, it's time to settle the score: reunite the old crew and give Vixius a taste of what she had to pass. An almost impossible heist that will require simple things like tricking the most powerful thief of Carintheum while a law officer is on her heels; but Myria is determined to not fail her crew a second time.

Lockwood takes a series of bold decisions that eventually pay off, starting with choosing to have more than simply Myria's POV, introducing Felix, a former soldier that, after suffering big magic harm in a heroic action, is serving as a law officer, whom will be trusted with following Myria on her first freedom days. While I was a bit sceptical with Felix, his POV was excellent as a balancer with the own crew, allowing us to know more about the complex power equilibrium that governs Carintheum and acting as the link between the crew and the higher powers. How he slowly starts accepting that blindly following orders might not be acceptable, and how he ends up becoming an important part of the crew is probably one of my favourite arcs in the entire book.
Myria herself is an incredibly charismatic character with a soft side that I greatly enjoyed, especially as we see her struggling in private, trying to be that fearless leader the crew needs if they want to pull an audacious heist. Following her, especially during the "reuniting the crew" phase, was super super fun, and it helped to learn more about the secondaries on the crew, each one playing their role to perfection.
The crew itself can be a dealbreaker in this kind of stories, and Lockwood managed to pull it, especially putting care in reflecting how they have a past together and how awfully the things went, how they pretend to bring down a metaphorical giant and how Myria is a bit of the glue that maintains them together.

Outside of characterisation, I was glad to see how Lockwood decided to go for a different route with the story, morphing this heist into something bigger, taking the opportunity to give us a deep look at the steampunk-inspired Carintheum and its politics, which eventually end up as a main plot point. From a heist to almost a revolution, those are the stakes I love to read about, especially if you still manage to keep the snarky and fun writing intertwined with darker themes such as military conflict, prison work, and the usurpation of a goverment system.
The pacing was excellent, fast but not too much, giving enough space to naturally introduce the reader to its world and its characters while laying the foundation needed for the plot to make sense.

A Complement of Scoundrels was a superb novel, the kind of heist fantasy story that I love because it's bold and ambitious, with a touch of wittiness in the tone that suits it; if you are looking for something that feels like The Italian Job or Locke Lamora, this one should be on your list. An amazing debut by S. V. Lockwood!